Tucker is an avid points and miles enthusiast. Being fully involved in the world of credit cards and frequent flying for only a few years now, he brings a very fresh and unique perspective to the world of travel.

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I was just approved for the Chase Ink Business Preferred card

January 18, 2018

I wrote a blog before the year ended that outlined my main credit card goals for the following year. On the top of that list was the Chase Ink Business Preferred card. This card was appealing for more than just one reason, but I wasn’t completely sure I’d get approved.

To recap, I have a credit history dating back about 2.5 years now. I sit at 4/24. And in comparison to my total annual income, I have a low credit line across all my cards (although I may need to begin to reconsider that). So I am in a good position being below 5/24, but I am at a very crucial point as I am right on the cusp. In comes the Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card.

The Ink Business Preferred is offering 80,000 bonus points after $5,000 in spend for the first 3 months — what I would consider to be the best publicly available sign-up offer on the market right now. On top of that it has a lot of bonus spending categories that I don’t already benefit from — advertising services, shipping, and internet/cable services. And some pretty stellar cell phone protection!

This card is incredibly important in securing my Chase portfolio of cards. My goals for the year revolve around earning the most amount of Ultimate Rewards points as possible on every day spend. This card is extremely crucial in that process.

But when it comes to timing, the true reason I decided to apply for this card out of the gate this year has to do with that 4/24 status I currently sit at. Chase takes into consideration your ‘5/24 count’ when considering you for the Ink Business Preferred card, but the card is not added to your ‘5/24 count’ upon approval. In other words, I have to be below 5/24 to get approved, which I was, but upon approval should remain at the 4/24.

I want to go over how exactly I got approved for the card. But first, I want to touch on the business card conundrum. Something a lot of people seem to get tied up on.

What constitutes a business?

One of the biggest fallacies in regards to business credit cards is the word business. Do you need a business? Yes, absolutely. Do you need to be federally registered, securing 5-digit revenue over multiple years, and have a CEO? No.

I don’t speak for or represent Chase in any way, but these business credit cards are meant for people like you and me running even the smallest of businesses. Some people are running a business and they don’t even know it. So what constitutes a business:

Uber

Real Estate Investing

Buying and selling on ebay

Blogging/Freelancing writing

Photography (wedding, graduation — have to be getting paid)

Nannying

Cleaning cars in the neighborhood.

The list is endless. And there are no true restrictions to the size or age of said business. In my case, my business is about as new as it can get. I am just beginning to kick-off this blog this year. But what that means is a lot of payments to ensure that the business reaches its full potential. In comes this business credit card, and with it a lot of Ultimate Rewards points.

Application Process

While I would say the application process is relatively straightforward, it is a bit more complicated than applying for personal credit cards. Let’s go step-by-step..

January 9 – entered application

If you have a registered business, with a tax-identifier number, this should be pretty straight forward. For me, I have what is considered a “Sole Proprietorship” — if you have one of the business types listed above, you most likely have a Sole Proprietorship. The “Legal name of business” and “Business name on card” will be your name. There is no need to enter a “Tax identifier number.” The category, type and subtype are at your own discretion.

For me, my business has only been active less than a year, so I put 1 for “Years in business,” and the “Amount of business revenue” was based on my expected revenue. Obviously, there is no way to put an exact number on unearned revenue, but it is your business, so don’t sell yourself short.

And finally, the business address is your home address. It is important to note here that the address should be your Chase billing address — that is if you already have a history with Chase.

Beyond this page, the application goes along much the same way any other personal card application would. Enter some personal information, security info, and hope that you are automatically approved!

Unfortunately for me, I got the dreaded “We will get back to you in 30 days with our decision”. The most frustrating part about this is the lack of information — no number to call, no reference number, nothing. I was expecting it though. I don’t have a developed business, so it only made sense.

January 12 – called Chase business card services

I waited longer than most probably would. 72 hours after my application I hadn’t heard anything. I expected that I would have heard something by now, so I called the Chase Business Card services line at 800-453-9719.

After going over a few things with the representative, he told me that my application was being held up because Chase needed to validate my street address. I was worried about this as I had actually just changed addresses — physically and with Chase. Because of this I expected a flag in the system.

January 13 – went into a Chase branch to verify my address

While I could have waited for the letter in the mail, to only then send off the proof of address, the Chase rep told me I could go into a branch and have them attach my address documentation directly to my account. If I had waited, it could have been up to 3 weeks difference in when I receive my card. I had some major spend upcoming so I really need the card ASAP.

Going into the branch was a pretty straightforward process. After giving the banker a short spiel on my situation, he contacted the Ink Business Preferred department to ensure that it was done properly. I had an internet bill in my name, which the banker was able to quickly upload and send off. It is important to note that my banker sent the bill, instead of directly uploading. This added a few extra days on the process, but nothing too big.

January 17 – Call back for approval

If the banker had uploaded the documents, they would have been available within 4 hours. When I called on the Saturday to see about my status, there was nothing uploaded — which led me to believe that the banker did in fact send, instead of upload and directly attach.

While I intended to wrap it up on that Saturday, it carried into the next week because of that misstep. With work taking much of my time early in the week, I could not get in contact until today (1/17) which is when I got the approval. Upon calling the same reconsideration line and asking about my status I was told my application was approved! Just like that. And then was able to rush delivery of the card so I’d have in 1-2 days.

Bottom Line

Overall, this process required a bit more work than is usually required, but there is absolutely no reason to shy away from business cards just because of the word business. I am hoping to hear many more success stories, and this definitely opens up a lot more possibility for me as well!

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Tucker is an avid points and miles enthusiast. Being fully involved in the world of credit cards and frequent flying for only a few years now, he brings a very fresh and unique perspective to the world of travel.

14 Comments

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